[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 185 (Monday, September 23, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49787-49788]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-24003]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[MT-960-1320-03-242A; MTM 83859]
Availability of Environmental Assessment and Request for Comments
on the Finding of No Significant Impact; Fair Market Value, and Maximum
Economic Recovery; Coal Lease Application MTM 83859--Spring Creek Coal
Company
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Montana, Miles City District,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management announces the availability of
the Environmental Assessment (EA) for Spring Creek Coal Company's
Federal Coal Lease Application MTM 83859 and requests public comment on
the associated Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and Fair Market
Value (FMV) and Maximum Economic Recovery (MER) of the coal resources
subject to the lease application.
The land included in the Coal Lease Application MTM 83859 is
located in Big Horn County, Montana, and is described as follows:
T. 8 S., R. 39 E., P.M.M.
Sec. 22: E\1/2\SW\1/4\SW\1/4\;
Sec. 25: SW\1/4\SW\1/4\;
Sec. 26: S\1/2\NE\1/4\NE\1/4\SW\1/4\, NW\1/4\NE\1/4\SW\1/4\,
N\1/2\SW\1/4\NE\1/4\SW\1/4\, SE\1/4\NE\1/4\SW\1/4\, N\1/2\N\1/
2\NW\1/4\SW\1/4\, S\1/2\NE\1/4\NW\1/4\SW\1/4\, SE\1/4\NW\1/
4\NW\1/4\SW\1/4\, NE\1/4\SE\1/4\NW\1/4\SW\1/4\, S\1/2\NW\1/
4\SE\1/4\, N\1/2\N\1/2\SW\1/4\SE\1/4\, SE\1/4\NE\1/4\SW\1/
4\SE\1/4\, N\1/2\SE\1/4\SE\1/4\, NE\1/4\SW\1/4\SE\1/4\SE\1/4\,
N\1/2\SE\1/4\SE\1/4\SE\1/4\;
Sec. 27: N\1/2\SW\1/4\NE\1/4\, N\1/2\S\1/2\SW\1/4\NE\1/4\,
SE\1/4\SE\1/4\SW\1/4\NE\1/4\, S\1/2\NW\1/4\SE\1/4\NE\1/4\,
S\1/2\SE\1/4\NE\1/4\, E\1/2\NW\1/4\NW\1/4\, N\1/2\NE\1/4\SE\1/
4\NW\1/4\, SE\1/4\NE\1/4\SE\1/4\NW\1/4\, NE\1/4\NW\1/4\SE\1/
4\NW\1/4\, NE\1/4\NE\1/4\NE\1/4\SE\1/4\.
T. 8 S., R. 40 E., P.M.M.
Sec. 30: S\1/2\NW\1/4\NE\1/4\SW\1/4\, S\1/2\NE\1/4\SW\1/4\,
SW\1/4\NW\1/4\SE\1/4\, W\1/2\SW\1/4\SE\1/4\, W\1/2\SE\1/
4\SW\1/4\SE\1/4\.
320.00 Acres.
The EA addresses the cultural, socioeconomic, environmental and
cumulative impacts that would likely result from leasing these coal
lands. Two alternatives are addressed in the EA:
Alternative 1--(Proposed Action) would involve leasing the 320 acre
tract, as applied for, which contains about 37.8 million tons of coal.
Approximately 247 acres of lands within the application area, inclusive
of 48 acres of crucial winter range for deer and antelope and 199 acres
currently designated as suitable for leasing with no stipulations,
would be redesignated as suitable for leasing with stipulations.
This alternative would also involve redesignating 63 acres of lands
within the application area currently designated as suitable for
leasing pending further study due to the presence of sage and Sharptail
grouse. Approximately 30 of those acres would be redesignated as
suitable for leasing with stipulations due to sage grouse wintering
habitat. The remaining 33 acres would be outside the grouse habitat and
would be suitable for leasing without stipulations.
Alternative 2--(No Action) Reject or deny the coal lease
application. The Federal coal lands would not be offered for lease.
The public is invited to submit written comments on the FONSI
associated with this proposed action as well as the FMV and MER of the
[[Page 49788]]
proposed lease tract. In addition, notice is also given that a public
hearing will be held on Tuesday, October 22, 1996, on the FONSI, the
proposed lease sale, FMV, and MER.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before 4:30 p.m., October 25,
1996. The public hearing will be held Tuesday, October 22, 1996 at 1:00
p.m. at the BLM Miles City District Office, 111 Garryowen Road, Miles
City, Montana.
ADDRESSES: Comments or questions may be directed to Todd Christensen,
Area Manager, Powder River Resource Area, Bureau of Land Management,
111 Garryowen Road, Miles City, Montana, 59301 (telephone 406-232-
4331). Copies of the EA are available at the above address. For more
complete data on this tract, please contact Randy Heuscher (telephone
406-255-2816), BLM, 222 North 32nd Street, P.O. Box 36800, Billings,
Montana.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan Benoit, Project Leader, Miles City
District Office, phone (406) 232-4331.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Federal Coal
Management regulations 43 CFR 3422 and 3425, not less than 30 days
prior to publication of notice of sale, the Secretary shall solicit
public comments on the proposed sale, FMV, and MER of the proposed
lease tract. Proprietary data marked as confidential may be submitted
to the Bureau of Land Management in response to this solicitation of
public comments. Data so marked will be treated in accordance with the
laws and regulations governing the confidentiality of such information.
A copy of the comments submitted by the public on FMV and MER, except
those portions identified as proprietary by the author and meeting
exemptions stated in the Freedom of Information Act, will be available
for public inspection at the Bureau of Land Management, 222 North 32nd
Street, Billings, Montana, during regular business hours, (9:00 a.m. to
4:00 p.m.) Monday through Friday.
Comments should be sent to the BLM, P.O. Box 36800, Billings
Montana 59107 and should include but is not necessarily limited to the
following:
1. The quantity and quality of the coal resources;
2. The mining method or methods which would achieve MER of the coal
including specification of the seams to be mined, timing and rate of
production, restriction to mining and inclusion of the tract in an
existing mining operation;
3. The FMV appraisal including but not limited to the evaluation of
the tract as an incremental unit of the existing mine, selling price of
the coal, mining and reclamation costs, net present value discount
factors, depreciation and other tax accounting factors, value of the
surface estate and any comparable sales data of similar coal lands.
The values given above may or may not change as a result of
comments received from the public and changes in market conditions
between now and when final economic evaluations are completed.
Glenn A. Carpenter,
District Manager.
[FR Doc. 96-24003 Filed 9-20-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DN-P
